On Thursday Feb. 6, I had the opportunity to volunteer at the Good Exchange Fashion Show and Clothing Swap at the EXDO Event Center. The show featured Tim Gunn, reality TV star and Emmy-award-winning fashion guru, and Mondo Guerra, winner of “Project Runway All Stars.” The show presented looks from professional designers through Goodwill’s Deja Blue Boutique as well as looks designed by high school students in Goodwill’s youth program. All funds raised from the show went to the non-profit’s career development programs.

Volunteering for the fashion show was a great experience, not to mention it is a great resume builder. I volunteered in the swap portion of the event. Some of my tasks included unloading boxes of donated clothes and organizing them onto various racks, preparing for the Swap. All of the guests of the fashion show were encouraged to bring ten items to donate and in return, they could choose up to ten items at the swap. Most of the guests didn’t pick ten items, so the remaining clothes were donated back to Goodwill. The Swap worked as a fundraiser for Goodwill in order to provide more stock for lower income families.

After volunteering, we were able to head into the fashion show where we got to see the final moments. We were all super excited to see Tim Gunn — don’t worry, he is just as he appears on Project Runway and has impeccable style. The looks created by the high school students were so remarkable and creative. The winning look reminded me of something pulled out of “Alice in Wonderland,” but with a modern twist.

After the conclusion of the show, we met and talked with Stephanie Ohnmacht, currently a contestant on “Project Runway: Under The Gunn” with Mondo as her mentor. Stephanie will also appear as a judge at the upcoming Senior Fashion Show at CSU on March 7. It was very inspiring to hear her insight into the fashion world and her helpful tips of how to break into the industry. This advice was invaluable and I look forward to more volunteer opportunities like this in the future.

Collegian Guest Author Stephanie Bowles of The Fashion Report can be reached at entertainment@collegian.com.